1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that has a function of displaying a program information guide for performing selection or programmed recording of broadcast programs such as BS (broadcasting satellite) digital broadcast programs or CS (communication satellite) digital broadcast programs.
2. Description of Related Art
With the recent development of digital technology, broadcasting using a digital signal is made possible in the area of broadcasting, and has already been put into practical use. In conventional analog broadcasting, only one channel can be allocated for one frequency band; in digital broadcasting, the use of MPEG-2 digital compression technology makes it possible to allocate a plurality of channels for one frequency band.
This contributes to an increase in the number of channels in digital broadcasting, making it impossible to obtain a sufficient amount of information from a TV program listing that appeared in printed materials such as newspapers or magazines. It is for this reason that a digital broadcast receiving apparatus has a function of displaying an electronic program guide (EPG), so that the user can easily search or select his/her desired program or perform programmed recording thereof, for example, on the television screen.
The EPG is the ability to receive data such as program information multiplexed with video or audio data transmitted from each broadcast station with a receiving apparatus, and generate a TV program listing based on this received data and then display it on the television screen. In the current digital broadcasting, digital signals such as video data, audio data, clock reference (time information), program specific information (PSI)/service information (SI) are generally multiplexed and then transmitted. The electronic program guide is generated based on the PSI/SI signal.
Incidentally, in a conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the electronic program guide is often displayed on a dedicated screen of a television receiver, or displayed in such a way that the electronic program guide overlays the major part of a currently displayed program image. As a result, the electronic program guide occupies most part of the display screen. This makes it difficult to use the electronic program guide while viewing the program images.
This being the case, a conventional technique disclosed, for example, in JP-A-2002-271710 displays program guide data composed of one or more pieces of program information in part of a display screen so as not to interfere with viewing of program images, thereby making it possible to display an electronic program guide that enables program selection or programmed recording with minimum operation.
However, the electronic program guide (EPG) displayed by the conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus mentioned earlier cannot respond to a program change in real time, as in the case of a TV program listing that appeared in a newspaper. The problem here is that this makes it impossible to deal with an unexpected program change. On the other hand, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2002-271710 can display an electronic program guide by displaying program guide data composed of one or more pieces of program information in part of a display screen so as not to interfere with viewing of program images. Also in this case, however, it is impossible to deal with an unexpected program change.
Another example of a conventional technique disclosed in JP-A-2003-9029 relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and a program information display method, and more particularly relates to program information display in a shared event broadcast program. Thus, this conventional technique does not serve to solve the above-described problems. Moreover, still another example of a conventional technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-314914 is a digital broadcast recording/playback apparatus that facilitates programmed recording of a currently played back program from the next broadcast onward. Thus, this conventional technique also does not serve to solve the above-described problems.